5 Players The New York Rangers Should Consider Going After

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Even though the New York Rangers announced last night that the team has acquired enforcer Daniel Carcillo in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, they have much more work to do if they want to make the playoffs in the 2013-14 NHL season.

Carcillo will add toughness and grit to the Rangers, but the Blueshirts still need more of that in my opinion. Of course, there's the giant elephant in the room to address also: goal scoring.

We are now past the halfway point of this season and there is no denying that the Rangers have many weaknesses that need to be fixed as soon as possible. I really hope Rangers GM Glen Sather knows that.

Not only do the Rangers struggle to score goals, but consistency has been a major problem all season. The compete level and energy the Rangers have game in and game out vary like no team I have ever seen in my years of watching hockey.

What this tells me is that the Rangers need to shake things up both on the ice and in the locker room, because floating around the .500 mark, which the Rangers have been around practically all season long, is just unacceptable. The Carcillo trade was a very small step in the right direction for the Rangers, but more deals have to be made fast in order to help the Blueshirts find consistency and make the playoffs. Here are the top five players who I believe the Rangers should consider going after.

Steven Carollo is a New York Rangers and sports writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, add him on Facebook, connect with him on LinkedIn and join his Google network.

4. Steve Ott

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Steve Ott is a gritty enforcer and a leader who plants himself in front of the net and bangs home rebounds. What is not to like about that?

The only thing I do not like about Ott is that he makes a little less than $3 million per year and is 31 years of age, but the good news is that his contract is up at the end of this year. If the Sabres do not ask for much in return for Ott and the Rangers can afford to let him go after this season, I think he could be a very good one-year rental for a team looking to make a push and finish the 2013-14 season in a playoff spot.

3. Dustin Byfuglien

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Byfuglien is a rare player who can be both a defenseman and a winger, and has a monster slap shot from the blue line. An offensive defenseman with a great slap shot is something the Rangers seriously lack and would be a major upgrade on the team's blue line. He is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, and would add a physical presence that I do not believe the Rangers have ever had in their history.

I mean, he is probably one of the only players who could size up and knock down Zdeno Chara.

2. Paul Stastny

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With Paul Stastny in the last year of his contract with the Colorado Avalanche and no extension talks on the horizon, I think the Rangers should make a play for him. Stastny is only 28 years of age and has scored at least 20 goals in every full season except one.

After this season, the Rangers are most likely going to buy out Brad Richards, leaving a center spot open. Since Derek Stepan is a second-line center at best, Stastny would ease up the pressure on Stepan and should make the Rangers a more balanced team for the rest of this season and beyond.

1. Matt Moulson

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Moulson is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and does everything the Rangers lack in. He does all the dirty work and is a grinder in the corners, is not afraid to pay the price in front of the net, gets garbage goals and has a very underrated wrist shot from at the top of the circles.

Moulson is a three-time 30-goal scorer who plays hard every shift and constantly flies under the radar. Picking Moulson up in a trade this year and then signing him to a three-year deal would make the Rangers a much better team overall, and would not cost the Rangers as much as some of the other players on this list.